She's a Prefect, He's a Marauder; and falling in love might be the best thing that ever happened to either Lily or James. Set during their 6th Year with the rest of MWPP. RATED PRE-OotP - story content may not follow canon revealed in Book 5

It
was the last full moon of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter's 6th
Year. The night was fair and still which meant Moony's howls would
pierce the night and serenity of Hogsmeade wide open. The Shrieking
Shack groaned under the weight of the boys, Remus the only one who
had yet to alter his shape. It was a precaution they took, having
Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail's change over into their animage
forms well before Remus set into his own transformation. It helped
to narrow the odds that something might happen to leave one of them
painfully human as Remus was anything but.

This
was an odd time for Remus as he always felt even more a wild, mad
man. After all, any outsider would find him talking to a pacing
stag, bounding dog, and lazily twitching rat to be a more than
off-color choice in company to carry on with. Of course standing
about in silence for the long moments seemed just as ridiculous so
Remus would talk at his friends and they would to their best to reply
with Padfoot's showy tricks, Prongs stomping out one for yes and
two for no, and Wormtail twittering something that passed for
language.

"You
know I almost miss this place every summer holiday," Remus spoke
into the dimming room. "It'll sound queer but I feel comfortable
here. Rather safe. Probably because I know everyone's safe from
me."

Wormtail
squeaked something in a meaningful pitch that Remus took for
sympathy. He waved it off.

Sirius
snorted or sneezed, producing a puff of dull colored dust. Pawing at
his nose he shook his pelt a bit and began bounding around Remus
madly. Remus didn't find this to be all that different from what
Sirius probably would have done, as though he could physically raise
his spirits by raising a cloud of dust. Remus waved a thicker patch
of the dusty particles away from his face.

"Bloody
hell, Padfoot, give it a rest," he insisted, stifling a cough.
"Chase your tail somewhere else if you must."

Padfoot
backed something smart sounding back at Remus until he went quiet and
rigid. His nose pointed into the air and took long whiffs of the
spaces between the airborne filth. Moving as though he caught sent
of a rabbit, Padfoot clamored up the stairs onto the upper floors
where he could be heard stomping over head. Remus sighed as the
literal dust began to settle and looked over to Prongs.

"Do
you know what that's about?" asked Remus.

Prongs
shrugged his antlers.

"Should
we be investigating?" Remus followed up.

Prongs
gave it only a light thought before he shook his antlers and yawned a
bit.

"Well
I wager if it had been someone squatting in the shack Padfoot would
have made more of a fuss and one of the rest of us would have
probably picked up on it as well," Remus wagered calmly as he
strolled over to the boarded up slats of the window and peered up
towards the sky.

The
sun was still finishing setting and the moon was close to the
horizon. Remus felt it coming, like a genuine inevitability not
unlike sleep, hunger, aging, and one day death.

Deciding
to take his clashing and pounding back to the ground level with the
rest of them, Remus looked over to Padfoot who was wagging his tail
as excited as a dog who had just been tossed a stick. Straightening
his canine form slightly, Remus's eyebrows rose as he noticed
Sirius casting off his animagus transfiguration.

"Padfoot, what are
you doing?" Remus demanded nervously as he squinted through the
slants of the window to see how much sunlight they had left. He
guessed about ten-minutes at best by the coppery light seeping
through.

James abandoned his
own form along with Peter who was never one to be left out.

"What the hell's
gotten into you?" James asked his best friend as Sirius was
bouncing up and down pointing at Remus excitedly. He looked truly
torn between blurting something out or just collapsing into wide-eyed
barrels of laughters.

"You sly wolf
you. . ." Sirius all but giggled the words.

Remus's eyes went
wide as he stared at Sirius with a slight blush as he could take a
very educated guess as to what it was Sirius had caught sent of
upstairs that had riled him, particularly after his innuendo. His
mouth hung slightly open before he had the sense to use it to form
words.

Sirius stopped
bouncing and grinning briefly. He stared at his friend, obviously
put off by his snappish demeanor.

"What? Why?" he
asked in sincere innocence, "I'm thrilled for you and her mate
enough to do back flips!"

James and Peter threw
one another curious stares.

"Her?"
Peter questioned James as though he might know.

James was about to
shrug when he was suddenly catching up with the conversation. His
mouth formed a large "O" as he felt himself turning to stare at
Remus involuntarily. Remus met eyes with James. They looked as
though they were on fire as Remus focused at him. His entire frame
was tense and he appeared to be laboring his breath. His mouth kept
fighting to form a snarl.

"It's nothing to
be embarrassed about! It's grand news! You and Arabella . . ."
Sirius began before he started grinning like an idiot again, ". .
. well, you know, I imagine you were there and all. . ."

"Well thank you
Sirius," Remus said darkly as he turned back to the boy in
question, "any other of my personal secrets you care to poke at
until all eyes are on it?"

See this was heading
straight for a row, James stepped into the conversation bodily.

"Remus, he meant
nothing by it," James attempted to mediate, "honestly we don't
think any less of you for it or anything. We're really just happy
and you don't need to feel like you have to hide this sort of thing
from your friends."

Peter's eyes kept
darting from one boy to another in the room so fast that he feared he
would soon grow dizzy.

Ignoring Peter's
ignorance, Remus thrust an accusing finver in the direction of
Sirius.

"But that's my
decision or hers ! Not his !" Remus replied sharply.

Sirius's expression
showed that he was starting to appreciate the severity of how much he
had offended Remus. His expression began to screw up, showing how
hard his mind was working to come up with something to say to smooth
things over without reinserting his foot in his mouth.

"Remus, truly, I
didn't know that you'd be so touchy about this – " Sirius
began.

"So it's my
fault now?" Remus growled, cutting him off.

James's eyes went
wide behind his spectacles.

"Sirius, this is not
the time to be agitating him," warned James, stealing a glance at
the window.

"I'm not trying
to! I'm trying to apologize!" insisted Sirius desperately,
"Remus, I swear, I wasn't about teasing you. It was meant as a
congratulation, being the first of us and all! Good on you, mate!"

"What did Remus do
first?" Peter carried on, whipping his head about waiting for
someone to answer him.

Sirius gave him a
short show of applause before, Remus let out a deep throated growl
and snatched the front of Sirius's shirt so fast he didn't even
have time to stop clapping.

"The lot of you –
OUT!" Remus clarified letting go of Sirius. "I'm liable to
kill someone if they stay around me as I am now."

"What did I do?"
moaned Peter. "For that matter, what did Sirius do?"

"Are you sure about
that, Remus?" James challenged. "You don't really want to be
here alone all night, right?"

"What I don't
want, James, is to murder one of you because the prat here got me all
worked up before my change. Now, shove off," Remus ended the
conversation on an irritable note as he stormed into another room of
the shack. James pushed his hand through his hair and let off an
exasperated sigh while Sirius looked to be attempting to pull out his
own black locks. Peter just gapped blankly at everyone.

"BUT I DIDN'T MEAN
ANYTHING BY IT!" Sirius moaned into his hands in frustration.

"I know, mate, you
just don't think sometimes. Actually I'm beginning to wonder if
you ever do," James patted him on the back supportively. "Let's
clear off and back to the castle then."

Entering into the
tunnel, the three boys walked on in silence for a bit. Sirius
appeared to be a little to busy kicking himself and Peter was pouting
like an ignored child, leaving it to James to start things up if they
were planning on speaking ever again.

"So you what then?
Smelled, um, them?" James asked Sirius curiously.

"Pretty much. Her
and him all over one of the upstairs rooms. I'd say it was just
snogging but I really couldn't tell where one scent picked up and
the other left off," Sirius explained, with a tap to his nose,
"anyway I was just happy for him though. Him and Arabella are
keeping secrets or having rows one minute and getting caught in empty
classrooms in the next. I was just glad they were getting closer and
not drifting apart. I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret
that they shagged."

Peter's jaw dropped
into his chest as the conversation was finally spelled out for him.

"Since when did
Remus get shagged?" demanded Peter.

James rolled his eyes,
Sirius narrowed his as he shot his hand out and gave Peter a hard
shove.

"Git," spat
Sirius.

Low, unintelligible
sounds hummed in the dungeons of Hogwarts castle. The dim torches and
dull embers within the fireplace could only reveal writhing forms in
even their best efforts. Perhaps a name had been said; whether it
belonged to a person, a god, or was even a name at all was uncertain
as it had passed the lips in a purr. The silhouetted frames appeared
to mutually shudder, bones locking, muscles pulsing, and fingers
marring tender flesh.

Aaron forced his mouth
over Mary's to keep her from calling out. She was near senseless
in her ecstasy and Aaron was only just slightly cognitive of his own.

They were in the
Slytherin common room, not the most private of places but then there
wouldn't be that extra flavor inherent to the possibility of being
caught. Feeling their pulses and breaths settle into a more evened
pace, Aaron Lestrange and Mary Tudor held one another intertwined
amidst the shadows of their surroundings and the sweat of their
friction. After a few indulged moments, they began to reapply the
attire they had discarded in favor of coital acts and returned to the
other's embrace.

"I love you," Mary
said as though she had arrived at a conclusion.

Aaron smelled her hair
affectionately.

"You're everything
to me. I'd live, die, and kill for you. And once we're of age
and out of this school we'll get married," he promised.

"You've been
saying that since 4th Year," Mary reminisced, "I had
thought it was just you being a romantic about your first shag. That
you assumed I needed to hear those things just to keep giving you a
toss."

"If I wanted to toss
someone I would have done it with Wilkes or Copia or some other witch
from some other house. I loved you. From the moment I saw you
sorted into Slytherin after me, I loved you and every moment past
that just made that all the more deeper and even more unfathomable
for me to not have you return such a feeling," whispered Aaron.

"You might have had
a shot with Copia," informed Mary smoothly as she traced a finger
over his leg, "she confessed to me sometime during 3rd
Year she fancied you."

"What did you say?"
Aaron asked.

"And incantation for
a boil curse," recalled Mary.

Aaron smiled into her
hair.

"Hmm. I had just
though she had broken out horribly that week," he stated. "Still,
I was no better. You're the most beautiful girl of our Year. It
was maddening to know that other eyes were on you. I could have
blinded them all for watching the sway of your raven hair, gawking
over your ivory flesh, or daring to meet your soul-piercing eyes.
They all wanted you, none more so than me, and none of them deserved
you more so than me."

"Very true, my
darling," Mary cooed as she settled comfortably into the arms of
her lover. "You belong to me, I belong to you. It's destiny
that we rule together. In this House, in this school, in this life,
and in Hell after."

"I don't find you
to be damned," assured Aaron, "I think of you as my dark angel."

Mary smiled into the
dark before she smiled up at Aaron.

"You were always the
kinder of the both of us," she said contently.

"Do you want
children?" he questioned out of the blue.

"I'm not
particularly maternal so probably not," Mary shook her head.

Aaron nodded, playing
with her hair lazily like a cat with a sting.

"I wasn't much
interested in the idea myself either. I have a brother, let him
carry on the family line. I want nothing to come between us, nothing
to steal a moment of our time or a flicker of our emotions for one
another," Aaron said in utter honesty.

"Not even our own
child of flesh and blood? A union of our perfect traits and
talents?" Mary pressed mildly.

"I fear I would kill
it," confessed Aaron coldly. "If not for the pain it caused you
in the act of birthing it, then I would for its demands upon your
attentions and love. I can't stand to have competition with you,
even my own child."

"What can I say?
You draw it out of me, my wicked muse. I am enthralled by you, I
need or desire nothing but you," he murmured.

"If only everyone
could be as happy as us," sighed Mary.

Looking to one
another, their lips met again in the dark. Tender and enrapturing,
Mary and Aaron knew that this was a love that was once to a lifetime
as no one had ever so perfectly fit with the other and if they
suspected there were, in fact, additional options available the other
would probably kill off their competition. It was just in their
natures and it was unconditionally accepted as part of the reason
they were so hopelessly in love.

Jealousy and possessiveness were rarely applied to the emotion of
love but they still denoted it as what could truly inspire such dark
demands if not the need to protect something just that precious?

It was several hours
past daybreak and Remus was still within the Shrieking Shack. He had
found a spot against a peeling wall and invested all his energies
into brooding. Halfway through the night he decided that he
shouldn't be too cross with Sirius since, in spite of his
astoundingly thoughtless nature at times, there was no malice to his
intent.

Privately, Remus
figured that he should have just told Sirius and the others about
where he and Arabella's relationship had reached. Not that he owed
them any explanations or a single scrap of information about his
personal life, but Remus learned long ago that he could trust Sirius,
James, and Peter with bigger secrets than this. They were his truest
friends and Remus felt a bit ashamed that he had kept this from them
for over a week.

Shuffling feet over
the graying wood pulled Remus's eyes up. Arabella stood in the
doorway of the room he was in, James's invisibility cloak tucked
beneath her arm with the soil of the tunnel pathway clinging to ends
of her clothing and hair. She had a rather concerned look to her
pretty round face.

"Well there are only
two things that can get you this blue, Mister Lupin. One is Sirius
Black and the other is when people make their pets wear people
clothes," Arabella sighed knowingly as she approached her
boyfriend. "And since I don't see any monkeys wearing suspenders
I have to ask what the Wankingest Wanker who ever did Wank has done
now?"

Remus glanced his
amber eyes up to Arabella before returning to the dusty floor. He
loathed telling Arabella what was bothering him but knew there was
little chance in keeping the secret contained. It would eventually
get into circulation somehow and he'd rather Arabella know about it
and brace herself for the possible scrutiny rather than be shocked
with it some afternoon in a girls' bathroom or by a jeering comment
in a hall.

"He figured it out.
. ." Remus said softly. "I didn't tell him, but he figured it
out and announced it to James and Peter. Which means Lily probably
knows because she's seeing James and whoever else Peter saw fit to
inform."

Arabella sucked in a
bit of breath and blushed. She had a prickly feeling in her neck at
the thought of being the subject of more gossip than the odd girl
with the cat fixation. Although she had never really considered
herself to have much of a reputation one way or another, the last
thing Arabella wanted was to be labeled as some kind of floosy or
other less generous adjectives.

"Well. . .I suppose
it was bound to happen," she sighed herself. "It's just one of
those things, you know? Whether or not it's actually true, people
will eventually just assume such things if you're seeing someone
long enough or carrying on really familiar with them."

Remus groaned and hid
his face slightly in the folds of his arm.

"I know. . .I know
that's how it is to be a young witch and wizard couple in school,
but, I liked it being our secret," he confessed as he stole a
glance at her. "I liked it just being known by us. . .it being
about us."

Arabella smiled as she
walked over to her boyfriend. She settled next to him on the floor
and rested her golden, curled head on his shoulder.

"It is about
us," she informed him with unshakable certainty. "It doesn't
matter if all the people in the world know about us or we just
disappear altogether. No one will ever know what it's like to be
us and completely absorbed in this feeling. Every love is unique and
tailored to the people in it. In a way, it's not fair for us to
expect other people to understand."

"Well unless you
have a time-turned handy to take it all back and if you insist on
moaning and groaning about it the only sensible thing to do is stop
altogether," smiled Arabella with a playful shove in his direction.

"That
would certainly be an effective plot to make me die, yes," agreed
Remus, cracking a smile.

Arabella shook her
head and clicked her tongue at his response.

"You've
become so woefully male on me now that you believe that survival
hinges upon how readily you're shagged," chided Arabella.

"It's
not so much about survival as it is making life all the more
bearable," specified Remus.

And just like that
Remus felt worlds and lifetimes better. He unfolded his arms to put
one around Arabella as he kissed her forehead.

"You know I love
you," he said.

"Well I imagine you
can't help yourself," Arabella kissed him back.

"Just barely," he
assured.

"…and
after he brought my mother into it I had no choice but to jump him,"
Sirius finished explaining to Winifred from the low ridding ledge
they had perched themselves upon.

"Well it sounds
reasonable enough when you say it like that. When my housemates told
me that you had took to pummeling a snowman I thought you simply had
rage issues," replied Winifred thoughtfully.

"Oh I do, however;
they are entirely warranted I assure you," nodded Sirius.

Drafts of warm spring
air found their way around the columns as Winifred and Sirius were
taking a break from the tedium and tribulations attached with
impending finals. Complaining that the musty air of the library
provoked illiteracy, Sirius persuaded Winifred to take a breather
away from books and scrolls. Winifred offered little in the way of
resistance as her usual turn in of marks certainly didn't have her
campaigning for the spot of Head Girl.

"Anyway, the Yule
Ball was a lark. Remus made a move on Arabella while James and Lily
stopped beating around the bloody bush with their song and dance,"
Sirius concluded, "though for the life of me I still don't know
why she went on the arm of Snape. Did she lose a sodding bet or
something?"

"Must all your
stories end with how Severus irritated you and you retaliated in some
astonishingly idiotic and/or juvenile way?" questioned Winifred in
a bland tone.

"Nah, only the
interesting ones," Sirius smirked. He took an inspecting glance to
the face of his watch and made a scowl. "Bugger, we've been out
here the better part of an hour. We should probably get back to
studying."

The Gryffindor boy and
his female Slytherin companion climbed to their feet while pulling
their school bags to their sides. Reluctantly venturing in the
direction of the Library and the relentless hushing of Madam Pince,
Winifred and Sirius walked side by side and exchanged the occasional
word but gave no other impression that the were together. Casually,
Sirius put his pale eyes on Winifred like a puzzle he was stuck on
and expected someone to come along with the answer to keep things
moving along.

As far as Sirius was
concerned (and informed) he and Winifred were dating, courting, or
whatever once cared to call it. The point was they were expected to
spend time together, snog on occasion, and grow angered if someone
else does encroaches upon either of these domains. Of course at a
glance no one would know that. Winifred's personality was a cool
one, Sirius knew that heading into his pursuit of her, still she
seemed to treat him with the same indifference she bestowed upon all
others. Part of Sirius wondered if this was her appeal to him, the
notion that he might crack through the frosty exterior and get a
reaction from the blasé interior. There was something
validating about being the first and only person to get Winifred
Wilkes to warm up, but Sirius tried to think of better
rationalizations for them being a couple.

If this was his only
motivation (and bugger him if he knew hers) then Sirius saw this less
as a relationship and more of a new game for Slytherins and
Gryffindors to play with one another.

Sirius opened his
mouth to say something. Possibly it would have been another
humorless story to try and get a laugh off Winifred. It might have
even been posing the question of whether Winifred was embarrassed to
be formally associated with him. Whatever Sirius might have said was
lost to a tempest of thoughts when he spied a per usual smug Snape
walking toward himself and Winifred.

The gaunt and pale
Slytherin's black eyes fell between Sirius and Winifred in a
contemptuous manner that he didn't even bother to sugarcoat.
Sirius felt his face twist its features to return something of a
similar effect. Still Snape didn't look particularly inclined to
intercept them and, at worst, would probably just make a snarky
comment at Sirius or both he and Winifred's expense.

What Sirius hadn't
figured on was Winifred suddenly grabbing hold of his arm, coiling
both her hands around it in a cuddling fashion. Sirius turned to
Winifred and saw her throw her cousin a deliberate sort of
expression. Refraining from commenting just that moment, Sirius took
note of how Snape bristled before inventing a whole new category of
hateful expressions. As soon as he and Winifred successfully crossed
paths with Snape and continued to walk on in opposing directions,
Sirius leaned close to Winifred's ear.

"Correct me if I'm
mistaken but are you trying to infuriate Snape?" he asked.

Winifred offered him a
shrug that suggested an innocence that Sirius was quite confident she
did not possess outside the incarnations of deception and mockery.

"Does it bother you
if I am?" answered Winifred with a new question.

Sirius furrowed his
brow.

"Is this the only
reason you're with me?" the inquiries pressed on.

"Don't be
ridiculous," said Winifred, "If I was looking to simply annoy my
cousin, it would be a far simpler means to an end to just spit in his
potion projects rather than run about with a Gryffindor."

She gave his arm an
encouraging squeeze.

"Just think of it as
us doing more things as a couple," she advised.

Sirius required little
else in the way of reassurance with this and soon wore a wolf's
grin.

"More or less,"
agreed Winifred, despite the hint in her voice that this was
something of an underestimation.

Not, at the moment,
curious as to what her specific motivations were, Sirius decided to
bask in the golden opportunity as it was presented. Stopping dead
center in the hall, he turned a bit and bellowed behind him.

"OY! SNAPE!"
Sirius called out.

Snape halted his own
pace to turn around, along with the other dozen or so students
sharing the corridor as well. The moment his black eyes were back on
both he and Winifred, Sirius threw his arms around her dramatically
with a manic grin.

"Just so you don't
have to spend your nights tossing and turning over the nature of all
this…" Sirius trailed off before he pulled Winifred into a deep
throated kiss.

Sirius heard
Winifred's muffled voice (quite possibly words of protest), squeals
of disbelief and amusement from onlookers, and most distinctive, the
sound of an unfamiliar hex from Snape's general direction.

James
was almost relieved when Sirius informed him of his intent to study
with Wilkes since he was hoping to talk with Remus seriously and knew
that their mutual, tactless friend might agitate things further with
his mere presence. Of course Peter probably would not be of much
help either. Not that the boy intended any harm, personal, rather he
had a habit of being clueless and James feared such an ignorance
would only make Remus all the more defensive. James made an effort
most of the morning to let Peter know that he wished to be left alone
however the other boy was proving to be rather thick. James,
ultimately, had the feign napping for about three hours before Peter
finally stopped chatting with his unresponsive friend and mutter
something about playing wizarding chess with some Ravenclaws before
leaving the dormitories.

So
as not to appear conspicuous himself, James pulled out his school
books and attempted to read up on a few of his subjects when Remus
entered into the room. Ducking behind Arithmancy, James offered a
quick hello as if nothing was different and pretended to read from
the book. If Remus had, in fact, heard him, he offered no indication
of it to James as he walked over to his wardrobe and found fresh
clothes for the day. After he had reread the same page four times
over, James decided it might be alright to speak up however Remus
beat him to the chore

"Where
are the others?" he questioned.

"Off. I don't
reckon they'll be back soon," James assured.

"I see," Remus did
not press the issue as he finished with his buttons and walked in the
direction of the door. James bit into his lip, fearing his
opportunity was about to walk out on him and shut his book rather
audibly.

"Remus, I was
wondering if we could talk about all this," announced James in a
hopeful tone.

Remus paused long
enough to bristle. It was evident that this was not a topic he
favored.

"Oh I think Sirius
carried on just fine for everyone, James," muttered Remus gruffly.
"Now if you want some fantastic tales of carnal theatrics, I
suggest you hang about the boys' bathroom for a bit because I'm
not about to cheapen one of the most meaningful things I've done in
my life for your immediate entertainment."

James threw his hands
up as though to block the comments or any other physical
manifestations of Remus's indignation he saw fit to chuck in his
direction. He had expected Remus to be defensive about the subject
and James honestly couldn't blame him if their situations had been
reversed. Still he didn't want Remus assuming that he was just
looking for some randy tale to snicker and make crude remarks to.

"I didn't mean
like that!" James insisted with a red ting to his skin.
"Honestly! The last thing I want to know is who was where doing
whatever! You both. . .that's entirely your business and I respect
that."

"Then what do you
want to discuss per se since you're the one bringing it up?"
snapped Remus.

James fell silent
rather abruptly before he shifted his eyes off Remus and onto a
non-specific point in the room. He felt the words chocking in his
throat as James Potter was a young man used to having all the answers
or being able to fake his way through them. But there really were
just some things that you simply did not know off hand or could learn
from books. It was the sort of life experience that you either had
actually embraced or, in the least, have the sense to ask another
about it.

"I was just hoping
to talk," James replied quietly, as if admitting some pained
secret.

Remus's features
softened slightly as he released a loud exhale

"Oh," he said
flatly.

Always the most somber
of the bunch, there was times that James saw Remus as the wet-blanket
of the Marauders who was nagging them with morals and logic that
James, Peter, and Sirius were fine doing without. Those were the
silly moments that all bled together in one big happy memory in the
mind of James Potter. The other moments, the ones that defined and
in many ways gave shape to the other moments that would follow later
on, James saw Remus as an older brother type. A little bit wiser, a
little bit more worldly, and pointing out the pitfalls to those who
would tread in his footsteps.

James saw his friend
in the latter role at this moment.

"Look Moony, I'll
understand if you tell me to sod off for this, particularly since
it's really not the sort of thing proper chaps should be discussing
but. . . well should I knowanything about it?
Something I might not figure out on my own?" asked James
awkwardly, raking his hair so violently with his hand that he worried
he might go prematurely bald.

"If I could give you
one bit of advice, Prongs, I'd tell you to wait for a moment when
you know that anything you and Lily do will be the opposite of sex,"
said Remus.

"I'm sorry, I'm
not sure I'm following that," James confessed, privately
wondering if there was some sort of secret lingo that only people who
lost their virginity could speak.

"It's really not
all that hard to get," insisted Remus, "anyone can have sex
pretty much. Not that hard to find and even less difficult to do,
but that doesn't make it meaningful or intimate in the least. When
you're with someone you truly love. . . it should seem like it was
impossible to get close another person and a marvel that you're
finally at this point and every moment before that one just seems
like it was filling in time."

James sought for the
moral of the story.

"So you're saying
I should hold off?" questioned James

"I'm
not going to tell you a bloody thing. It's your and Lily's lives
so it's your choice," Remus backed away from the question. "All
I'll say in respects to the right time and place is wait until
whatever you're feeling for one another is the opposite of sex then
you'll know you're alright. And if that's a week off, a year
off, or sometime after you're both married then you won't have
done a single thing wrong."

James nodded along
with this, catching Remus's point. Anyone could have sex. It was
just a physical act that most people past the age of 13 or so could
figure out on their own if they had to. Love complicated this, as it
had a habit of doing with most other things. The thing was,
complications didn't necessarily make things inherently bad.

It
just meant you had to think them through a bit more before you stated
it, pay more attention while you were doing it, and get more meaning
out of it one you're finally done.

He and Lily had a
tendency of being complicated in a great many things and James could
honestly say that he wanted this to be yet another one.

"Yeah, I get that I
think," said James thoughtfully, "thanks."

"Not at all,"
Remus nodded respectfully.

A moment of silence
passed before James changed the wait from one foot to another and
dared to ask:

Remus's head snapped
towards James at the mention of this just before an amuse look
crossed his face.

"I'm ruined for
all else I fear," Remus replied dryly.

"Good to know the
voice in the back of my head screaming things out whenever I'm with
Lily at least knows what it's talking about," chuckled James

"It's made some
very astute educated guesses," Remus assured with his own laugh.
He paused for a moment before adding.

"Just be careful
with Lily, James."

"Oh yeah I know. I
would be careful to make sure that I'm not carrying on the Potter
line anytime soon," James told Remus in all sincerity. "There
are potions, charms, talismans, - "

"That's good to
think about but that's not what I meant," Remus interjected, "I
mean. . . just be considerate of her. It's not exactly the same
for witches as it is for wizards. Sometimes it hurts them, okay?"

James had heard
something about that somewhere down the lines of adolescents. He was
glad Remus mentioned something since he didn't want that sort of
thing to be lost to obscurity, gossip, and locker room chat.

'Oh. . .yeah. .
.I'll bare that in mind," James responded.

"Good man," Remus
nodded.

"You know, I'm
sort of glad you did this first," James confided with a slight
grin. "I could never talk about this straight with Sirius and
Peter can barely mutter incantations without fumbling the words."

"I was kind of
figured it would have been you actually," replied Remus with his
own grin. "You're our fearless leader, wherever you go we
follow."

"Yeah well if any of
you wankers follow me into to that if I ever get around to it
with Lily I'll forget our years of friendship and hex the lot of
you," laughed James.

Aaron Lestrange was
always proud to be a Slytherin. Simply being sorted into the house
was a sign of breeding and a promise of better things. After all,
any house that prevented mudbloods from sullying the ranks did
nothing but assure a better quality to the wizards produced from it.
Of course that did not mean Aaron Lestrange always enjoyed the
company in Slytherin since they were a bunch of backstabbing dolts
who droned endlessly on about their old money families and what
social or political games they were currently playing. And then
there were the Walden Macnairs of the house...

Aaron had spent the
better portion of an hour listening to Macnair prattle on about his
collection of medieval weaponry and the subtle naming and history of
them all. Losing his patience with politely nodding and making
monosyllable replies of feigned interest Aaron was desperately
considering stunning the other boy and blaming it on a Gryffindor
later when he spied Tristan Traver's cross into his line of vision.
Excusing himself under the false pretense of discussing a fictitious
question he wanted to ask the Hufflepuff, Aaron joined Traver's at
his side.

"Where's your
better half?" asked Aaron as a hello.

"Evan?" Tristan
replied, just realizing Aaron was speaking to him. "Tutoring some
younger years I think in the commons. Why you ask? Looking for a
world?"

"No, just seems as
though you two are always together," shrugged Aaron.

"Same could be said
about you and Tudor," said Tristan.

"She's about I
imagine. Probably stirring up some trouble I'll have to sort out
later," said Aaron though he did not seem particularly put off by
the idea.

Tristan nodded in
something of a knowing way that Aaron couldn't resist questioning
him on.

"Yes, Travers?"

Tristan glanced away
in an obvious reluctance. Sighing to himself over something, he
looked at Aaron head on.

"Well, it might be
nothing really, but I do see her hanging around other wizards in a –
ahem – friendly manner," Tristan said before adding quickly.
"Sorry, mate."

Surprisingly, Aaron
did not look exceptionally phased by this news. Nor angered.
Strangely enough the Slytherin boy appeared almost amused that
Tristan was the one who was bothered at all.

"Yes, Mary will do
that," said Aaron coyly.

Tristan had the look
of a young man who was not quite following along with the scene but
was making a fair attempt to catch up.

"So, you both have
an understanding about this sort of thing then?" asked Tristan
cautiously.

"Mary
and I have less of an understanding and more of a game. It's not
all that uncommon to most couples; we're just willing to
acknowledge its existence unlike most. Whenever one of us feels the
other could be paying a bit more of an investment in the relationship
we reserve the right to seek some outside solace," Aaron explained
lightly. "Of course the prickly part of the game is the other
reserves the right to dispense with the outside party as they see fit
if they find out."

"Not
to tell you how to manage your own love life, Lestrange, but that
sounds like a wonky sort of waltz," Tristan decided.

"Maybe
from an outside perspective but these jealous little teasings help to
stir passions. The possessiveness of it all makes you want the
person more. You'll do anything to make certain they don't
desire or even look to another for affection and, when you keep
theirs, you know you're the most important person in their world,"
Aaron went on. "However that kind of spark is hard to up keep so
you find ways. . ."

Tristan
nodded along to show he understood this even if he didn't practice
it. Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, Tristan did a quick check
about to make sure no professors or prefects were about to make
themselves annoying. He offered one up to Lestrange who respectfully
declined. As he worked his lighter against the wind, Lestrange
turned the conversation about.

"So
tell me, Travers, how privileged are your experiences with the
opposite sex?" Aaron drawled, bored with discussing his own
personal life.

"Witch
here or there," Tristan replied coolly.

"Which
witch here or there?" Aaron pressed with a stiff nod in the
direction of some of their female peers about.

"I'm
afraid I must hold my tongue on that question, Mate," apologized
Tristan.

"Out
of a gentleman's courtesy?" smirked Aaron.

"Bloody
hell no! Out of fear I'd get hexed so viciously there wouldn't
be enough of me left for my mum to mourn!" laughed Tristan.

This
was the Hufflepuff boy's honest reaction. He didn't believe in
protecting good names and proper reputations however he did believe
in scrolls full of curses that would make his an uncomfortable
existence.

"Hmm,
that begs for a curious question," Aaron mused. "So tell me this
at least, are you worried the witch in question will perform the
hexing or does she have a boyfriend whom you're cagey of?"

"I
dare not even respond to that," Tristan smiled.

Aaron's
eyes wafted across Tristan before looked off.

"I
think you're lying," Aaron decided.

"Think
what you want to mate," Tristan shrugged with an indifferent sort
of confidence.

Apparently
rethinking his statement in light of Tristan's stoic poise, Aaron
crossed his arms and pressed his lips thin. It was a similar look he
donned when he attempted Arithmancy in his head or was trying to
figure which boy in school was responsible for putting that specific
teasing smirk on Mary's face.

"All
right, which house at the least?"

"I
dunno. What if I say it was Slytherin? Would that set you off?"
Tristan questioned.

Aaron
snorted a chuckle.

"I'd
almost be disappointed Travers if you couldn't find a girl from my
house," responded Aaron dryly. "Honestly it's not like you
need to do a whole song and dance to charm those snakes out of their
baskets."

"Wicked
harsh on your own girls there mate," Tristan said with an amused
smile.

"Naïveté
is a luxury that Slytherin ironically can't afford," spoke Aaron
as though he were stating the obvious. "So?"

"Yeah,
one was a Slytherin," confessed Tristan.

"Our
Year?" asked Aaron with renewed interest in the conversation.

"Now
that I'll carry to the grave," Tristan shook his head.

"Well
if I find out it was Mary it will be a bleeding short trip," Aaron
assured.

"It's
not Mary, you daft possessive git," Tristan rolled his eyes
with a long sigh.

Sirius squinted at his
reflection in the dull surface of a window overlooking the evening
sky from an empty classroom. He rubbed at the word TRAMP which
appeared to be etched backwards from his point of view. The words
glowed in a hot scarlet light and throbbed scalding pain to his
forehead whenever Sirius did or thought anything remotely lewd. As
such, his kiss of Winifred in the hall had proven to be a rather
excruciating one.

For her part Winifred
would not stop snickering.

At least she wasn't
cackling still.

"It's not funny,"
Sirius protested to his reflection, vanity speaking mostly on his
behalf, "I've tried every counter-curse I know and it's still
stubbornly in place like it's always been there."

"What were you
expecting after that Sirius?" Winifred replied as though
this was the only result that could have possibly occurred.

"I know it's naïve
but something a bit bloody sporting!" Sirius retorted in a snort,
"I mean how does he expect me to even have a chance to defend
myself when my tongue was to busy doing other things than reciting
incantations and my hands most assuredly were not upon my
wand!"

The cackle returned to
Winifred as she shook her head.

"I think that may
have been the idea," Winifred reported dully.

Sirius turned away
from the flare off the glass to look at Winifred with a lack of
amusement.

"Well you're not
the one who has to waltz around with neon libel painted on their
skull," stated Sirius as he crossed his arms.

"Doesn't libel
imply falsehoods Sirius?" Winifred teased.

"Ha," Sirius
laughed without humor.

"Well you did
provoke him to a limit that would set most civilized people off,"
Winifred reminded.

"That was above and
beyond!" Sirius maintained his innocence in all this. "If you
were his blood sister or ex lover then I could see all the fuss but…"

Trailing
off, Sirius went back to prodding the print on his head grumpily. So
fixated on his own face, Sirius barely noticed the smile etched into
Winifred's as she slinked up behind him and coiled his arms around
the length of his middle. Finding himself less concerned with his
hexing suddenly, Sirius gave her an entertained smirk through his
reflection.

"Hmm?"
he questioned.

"I
was just thinking that maybe a good form of turn-about might to be to
put some merit behind Snape's little insult," Winifred murmured
as her hand ran us Sirius's face and stopped to tap his forehead.

Sirius found it as
heard to fight the smile from his lips as forcing his pulse into a
steady pace. Turning to face her, Sirius still found Winifred's
body pressed against his and wasn't at all put off by this
discovery. Leaning in for an open mouth kiss, Sirius was
disappointed to find it lasting only a few moments before Winifred
broke it off.

"What's wrong?"
Sirius asked. "Did you want to stop?"

"Quite the
contrary," Winifred corrected.

Noting their
surrounding of an empty classroom with it only begin a few hours to
curfew, Sirius was of the opinion that this wouldn't make for an
intimate arrangement much longer once people started checking the
castle over for wayward students.

"As much as it pains
me to be the voice of reason, I think a long snog would be pressing
out luck," said Sirius with a wiry smile.

"What about a quick
something else?" prompted Winifred.

Staring at Winifred
with a hook in his eyebrow, Sirius felt fairly confident that he
caught the meaning Winifred intended of this comment but didn't
wish to embarrass either of them with a rash assumption. Either way
this did not change the timing of things and this certainly wasn't
an on-the-spot decision.

"Maybe we should be
heading back to our houses," Sirius said finding his smile becoming
a bit more forced. "I'm sure Snape would love to bust me in the
midst of some transgression. That and I really should try to catch
onto Remus's ear before bed so as to make a proper apology for the
usual tragedy associated with those who care to associate with me."

"Are these excuses
as lame when they leave your lips as they are by the time they reach
my ears?" Winifred asked teasingly.

Not giving Sirius the
opportunity to answer, Winifred's mouth was over his and performing
gestures of undeniable passion. Finding it becoming an increasing
chore not to get swept along with the moment, as passion tended to
have that intoxicating affect on all things, Sirius felt hands
roaming freely over him as his owns were moving. This was all fine
and familiar to Sirius until few deft gestures on the part of
Winifred that struck Sirius to be a little too experienced and
undeniably specific caught his attention with his breath.

Pulling
away with a swallow, Sirius heard himself saying words that he might
have slapped another wizard for uttering in a similar situation.

"Hmm, that's
rather odd," purred Winifred against his ear as her body writhed
slightly against his. "because I'm getting a distinctly opposite
impression from you at the moment against my upper thigh."

A low groan passed
Sirius's lips. It felt as though it had traveled up from his core,
trembling all along the way. In an impressive feat of restraint that
Sirius himself would have been a skeptic of his possessing, he put
his hand on top Winifred's slender shoulders and bodily separated
them.

"Ahem. .
.well, be that as it may . . ." Sirius attempted to keep at least
his arm's length away from Winifred so he could speak without being
persuaded otherwise, ". . . I think this might be a bit fast.
We've only just started seeing one another and I'm feeling a bit
rushed by all this."

"I don't know many
wizards who get put off by an offer of sex, Sirius. In fact most of
the time they have a row about quite the opposite," noted Winifred
in an amused voice with a slightly frustrated undertone.

Sirius lingered on
these words for a moment before asking a question that was against
his better judgment.

"How many other
wizards do you know like this?" Sirius asked tentatively.

Winifred rolled her
eyes and stepped away from Sirius crossing his arms. Although
victorious in getting the girl to back off a bit Sirius found it
bittersweet since Winifred was not looking at his as the biggest git
in the world.

"That's not what I
meant," Sirius said apologetically.

"Oh I think that was
probably very honest of you, Black," Winifred replied, causing
Sirius to flinch at his surname as if it were an insult. "Your
round-about way of seeing how much of a tart I am, hm?"

"No, I wasn't
looking to offend, truly," Sirius insisted, "but, this is just a
bit sudden. I just want to be sure that things…progress…for the
right reasons and not false ones."

"Such as?"
Winifred demanded.

"Well, Florence
Copia said something that I've been thinking on. She suggested
that you might be interested in getting back at your cousin over some
slight and I would be a rather easy avenue for that," said Sirius
reluctantly.

"So now you're
listening to Copia?" Winifred spat out the question. "And it's
not as though you should have any right to be outraged even if that
were true. You enjoy antagonizing Severus more than all the people
combined in this school!"

"There's a far gap
between those two things," Sirius said bluntly. "Enraging that
prat is a perk of our dating not the entire point of it! And if the
latter's true, Winifred, then it's a cruel joke but Snape's not
the one it's being played on."

Sirius looked away
from Winifred, starting out the window and eyeing the reflection of
Snape's hex most specifically. He heard Winifred sigh from behind
him somewhere.

"You're
overanalyzing all this, Sirius," Winifred said, placing an ease
into her tone. "I'm not thinking about Snape – in any regard –
I was thinking about us and how much fun we could be having."

"Well I'm thinking
about us too," said Sirius over his shoulder. "And I don't see
anything beyond talking tonight serving us much good. Not when we
can't snog without it becoming a brawl."

Sirius turned around
so he could face Winifred fully as he said what he intended to next.

"Win, I think we're
brilliant together, I do, but I need to know you're as serious
about that as I am. If you're looking for a bit of fun, whether
it's at Snape's expense or for some other reason, then I can't
have a large part in it," Sirius explained softly. "I'm not
serious about a whole lot in this life but I do find a few things
sacred now and again. This is one of them."

"Maybe you're over
thinking things," pointed Winifred.

"And maybe you need
to think things over," replied Sirius urgently. "I've got my
priorities sorted out concerning you, but I barely know where I stand
in your book. I need something to go on here, Winifred, before I end
up in a place that I'm not going to come out of unscathed if you
decided fun and games are over."

Winifred's look was
truly reproachful at this point when regarding Sirius.

"I don't believe
it. Are you lecturing me on maturity?" she demanded.

Sirius fixed his blue
eyes on Winifred before offering her a stiff nod.

"Kind of lets you
know how bad things are when I come off as the responsible one
doesn't it?" remarked Sirius as he made his way to the door.

"So is that it?"
asked Winifred in a hot tone that didn't support her usual cool
demeanor.

"I'm not the one
confused about where we stand love," said Sirius without looking
aback as he entered the corridor. "And as soon as you've found
your piece of clarity, be sure to pass it along in my direction."

The five faces in the
room went varying shades of crimson, none darker than Arabella's.
She smiled awkwardly at the floor, moving her lips as though she was
preparing to say something but stopping at the last moment. It was
odd to see the girl who was notorious in their Year for chattering
ceaselessly so without words.

Finally, Arabella
mustered some words without looking any of the other girls straight
in the eye.

"Yer too innocent,
single, and stumpy teh be think'n about mak'n nice with
boys," Cassidy insisted in a protective note.

Gwen chucked her
pillow full speed at Cassidy's head, pegging her with a clean shot.

"I HAVE RILEY!"
screeched Gwen indignantly.

Cassidy pulled the
pillow from her face so she could shoot a meaningful look at Gwen.

"He better not be
suggest'n nice things teh yeh since yeh've only been going out
fer a week!" huffed Cassidy defensively. Calming down she turned
her eyes onto Millicent with a wicked sort of grin. "What 'bout
yeh Millie seeing as yeh have a man in yer life now?"

"OhIreallydon'tthinkthatweneedtoworryaboutallthat!"
Millicent chocked out in one long squeak, as she took to wringing her
hands while looking entirely mortified.
"HonestlyCassidywhateverputssuchnotionsintoyourheadI'llneverunderstand
– "

"This is why I get
up in the mornings," Cassidy decided with a laugh.

The room erupted into
high-pitched laughter in response to Millicent's flustered
embarrassment. Even Millicent, once she realized that Cassidy was
having a bit of sport with her, managed an uneasy smile and nervous
giggle. Gwen and Arabella offered a queasy tint to their amused
expressions, however, since Snape was a necessary part of this
equation.

"I bet the next one
of us to be sharing wisdom on the issue will be Lily though," Gwen
announced when the laughter died down, "her and James have been
going out about as long as Remus and Arabella haven't they."

All the eyes in the
room drew upon Lily as she fell silent with a thoughtful expression.

"We've been going
out a fair amount of time," was all Lily would admit to.

"Well what the hell
are yeh doing teh keep him still interested in yeh?" Cassidy
teased.

Gwen will wonder if all
the other boys are talking about this too. Arabella would be
scandalized at the thought of Remus sharing while no one points out
the implied irony of it all. Cassidy will tell Arabella that if it
makes her feel better Sirius and James probably pinned him to the
floor and tortured him until he confessed and began to accept their
peels of admirations and congratulatory embraces.

"You really do have
precious little faith in the male gender don't you Cassidy?"
Millicent noted with her best attempt at sarcasm.

Cassidy stole a glance
at Lily before grinning broadly.

"Actually I think
the problem is I get them a little too well sometimes," Cassidy
chuckled.

It was a fair early
evening over Diagon Alley however dark clouds to the north alluded to
rain after dark. Until then, the restaurants of wizarding London
were committed to keeping their outdoor seating available. Gathered
around an iron patio table with picked over portions of dinners and a
lukewarm kettle of tea, Aurora Black ignored the slight chill of the
English spring to savor the company of some old school friends.

Dorcas Meadows, a
fellow Ravenclaw alumni, had sent a post to Aurora that had served
very much like a Howler without sound. Evidently her former
housemate had grown irritable with Aurora's lack of correspondence
and accused her of becoming a shut-in after Malfoy jilter their
engagement or whatever had happened as Dorcas reiterated how Aurora
DID NOT WRITE ENOUGH. After her three and a quarter paged of
chiding, Dorcas invited Aurora to an evening meal with their friends
Frank Longbottom and, a prior Hufflepuff of their mutual Year,
Marlene McKinnon.

After graduation, as
more wizarding citizens do, Aurora and others of her year found jobs
within the Ministry of Magic still that fact did not always allow for
time to catch up with one another. Frank, of course, was an Auror in
the Department of Magical Law enforcement which had him out and about
more than behind a desk. Dorcas worked within the Ministry in an
effort to create new and better spells which meant a generous
knowledge of charms and dead tongues were her preoccupation. Marlene
was working within the Department of Mysteries and did not discuss
what she did however remained the more personable employee of the
department.

Smiling between sips
of her tea, Aurora felt it was her turn to conduct the conversation
they had been in the middle of.

"Not to sound
ungrateful, but what inspired this impromptu school reunion?"
Aurora asked curiously.

Marlene's expression
became quickly amused as she glanced to Dorcas.

"Well initially I
thought it would be nice to bring the girls from our Year back
together before we gave you a proper send off as the new Madam
Malfoy," Marlene confessed, "but as soon as word wormed its way
back to my ear that your engagement was subject to Rita's active
imagination and frantic quill we decided you could use a pick me up."

"That and something
in Rita's likeness," Dorcas chirped as she passed a voodoo doll
with wavy blonde locks dangling from the top.

Aurora accepted the
doll with an entertained expression and prodded it with the tip of
her fingernail for affect. Marlene leaned over her shoulder with an
appraising eye.

"It
could double for Lucius if with straighten the hair up a bit," she
observed with a chuckle.

"I appreciate the
token of your support," Aurora said as way of thank you to her
friends.

"Well Rita was
always a bit of a cow even when we were in school," Dorcas insisted
earnestly. "I reckon she only kept company with us so she would be
on the inside track of all the best gossip."

"Well Aurora was
practically queen of Hogwarts Castle back in the day," Marlene
added on with a reminiscent look. "She and Lucius had the eye and
ear of everyone and we were her loyal ladies in waiting."

"Have to admit that
I wouldn't have minded standing in line for Lucius back then,"
Dorcas added. "But he was less of a swelled-headed git back then."

"No he was still a
git, you just allowed his pretty head to turn yours," Aurora
corrected smiling.

"I'll second that
bit," Frank said with a grim look. "I always said the only good
thing about Lucius Malfoy was Aurora Black and the only bad thing
about Aurora Black was her taste in men."

"Yes, Frank, I
believe that was your bloody quote in the Gryffindor memoirs book for
our Year," Dorcas chuckled.

"You're just sore
that I was preaching the Merlin truth all these years," Frank
quipped before glancing at Aurora and realizing a round of
I-told-you-so's were not in order. "Sorry, luv."

"We'll
let Aurora serve as the authority since she did date him for the
better part of a decade," Dorcas reasoned.

"Perhaps I should
have pinched you a time-turner, though I imagine that Augustus
Rookwood would have birthed a dragon to find one missing," Marlene
mused.

"Not at all,"
Aurora shook her head, "the experience of it all must be worth
something in the end. Those content to live in the past cannot see
the present and make poor plans for the future."

"So what's on your
bright horizon, Aurora?" Marlene prompted with inquiring, bright
eyes before she scrunched her face into itself. "Bother, that was
such stupid pun you would have thought I did it on purpose."

The others at the
table appeared content to ignore Marlene's absent-minded commentary
in the interests of carrying on with her initial question.

"I heard the wildest
speculation concerning that," Dorcas interjects as she looked
Aurora over. "Tell me if this is true, but I heard you were
already back on the broom handle concerning dating."

"Don't say?"
Frank commented with interest. It was a cautious enthusiasm,
however, as he had an air about him that suggested he half thought
Aurora was about to confess to dating some mountain troll.
Undoubtedly this was a concern won after ten years spent having to
sit side-lines to Aurora and Malfoy's less than storybook romance.

"I didn't,"
Aurora reminded. "There was. . .something, but it didn't work
out. It probably could never have."

Dorcas, Frank, and
Marlene exchanged looks, searching one another's features to see if
they had more information that the others. Dissatisfied, they turned
back to Aurora with expectant expressions.

"Well?" Marlene
pressed in case they weren't being clear enough.

"We had different
backgrounds. He was a pureblood, but it's one of those
anachronistic families that cling to all the traditions that are out
of fashion," Aurora explained, realizing that her three friends
probably wouldn't let up without a little more information.

"Are we talking
about Lucius again?" Frank said half in jest.

"I reckon not, but
half my department are just like that. The head, Arcanus Snape,
you'd swear from his haughtiness that if he bled it'd be
concentrated magic or something, of the like" snorted Marlene.

"His son's a
vindictive little prat too," added Frank, "that whole thing with
Aurora's brother last January was ugly and Snape's son certainly
was no help. You could tell if he had his way in the world, he'd
have had Sirius' head over a prank that got away from itself."

"Well tell me he was
at least gorgeous so I can live vicariously through you as you rob
cradles," Dorcas sighed.

"It wasn't about
looks, youth, or sex or whatever you want to think," Aurora
corrected quickly. "It was the opposite, actually. It was about
meeting someone whom you thought understood you and made all that
superficial things most people get hung up on seem entirely
pointless."

The witches and wizard
in Aurora's company took a moment to digest this information as
they took a few bites of their meal in silence. After a few firm
chews, Aurora tacked on an epilogue to her statement.

"Besides if all I
wanted was a shag Merlin knows I could just go to Lucius." shrugged
Aurora with a coy grin.

Dorcas and Marlene
nearly choked on their meals as they started to laugh. Frank took a
sip off his goblet before rolling his eyes.

"Bloody hell, Aura,
I could probably just go to Lucius for a shag," Frank
quipped.

At this point everyone
began to choke on their respective drinks and food.

"I'm sure Alice
would love to hear that," Marlene refused to end her laughter.

Frank waved off at the
three witches as he raised his goblet rather than set it down.

"Okay, enough of the
jokes, let's be serious for a moment hmm? How about a toast to
health and happiness since I doubt any of us know when we'll all be
together like this again," proposed Frank.

The women obliged as
they brought their own goblets to the sky.

"To old friends: as
loyal and loved as family," began Marlene.

"To promising
futures and fighting the good fight without fear," Dorcas jostled
her glass as well.

"To remembering the
good times, familiar faces, and unforgettable friends," added Frank
with sincerity and a smile.

Finally Aurora put her
own goblet to her friends with a smile.

"To kisses that save
the day and endings that are happily ever after," Aurora insisted
with a look of growing seriousness.

"And to heroes over
villains and world without Voldemort's shadow."

A few reproachful and
frightened looks that heard mention of the Dark Lords name eyed the
table before not wanting to have anything more to do with them. The
small party all took a solemn drink to finish their toast before they
stared at one another.

"Do you think that's
what will happen? Us and the rest of the Order will be heroes?"
Marlene questioned softly.

Aurora smiled behind
her goblet. It was the same coy smile she had been using for years
as both a passport in life and shield against the uncertainties of
it. Her blue eyes shimmered between Marlene, Dorcas, and Frank.
Some of the most brilliant minds of her generation and some of the
noblest spirits she had the privilege to know personally.

"I've always
believed, my friends, that it is better to play a small part in a big
story rather than have no part at all," Aurora confided. "Greek
lore taught me that."

"Trust me Aurora,
you can't help but be epic," assured Frank.

Aurora leaned over and
hissed Frank upon his round cheek.

"Well, there's
still a few more pages to be written now isn't there?" she
replied.

Dinner
had finished up and the students were streaming into the corridors to
head off to wherever they intended to spend the time before curfew.
After watching Lestrange apparently attempt to wrestle something out
of Tudor's mouth with his tongue, James was compelled to voice the
concern that…

"Sometimes
I get the impression that everyone is having sex but me," James
sarcastically stated as he made his way with Sirius from the Great
Hall.

"Well,
let's hope Lily's not otherwise poor luck for you mate," Sirius
joked. "Of course if Peter makes you the last virgin standing I'd
recommend you turn your wand on yourself and die like the man you
were never made into."

James cocked his head
towards Sirius so he could properly scowl in the direction of his
supposed best friend.

"Do
you just sit about and think of things to make me want to watch you
pick your teeth up from the floor?" James spat.

"Passes
the time in between shagging," Sirius shrugged with a chuckle as he
patted James on the back.

James abandoned
Sirius's hand and his own foul expression for a curious look.

"How
much time?" he inquired of Sirius.

"About
17 years," Sirius promptly replied. It had long since been deemed
that Sirius Black had no shame to speak of.

"You're
putting me on," insisted James.

"If
you insist," said Sirius without much protest.

James
loved Sirius like a brother and was fond of him in more respects that
he warranted at times, but even James had to admit that it struck him
as off-color for the suave, popular, and rash Sirius Black to be
entirely virginal.

Particularly
since he was a notorious fibber.

"Wait,
you never slept with anyone? Not ever?" James pressed in an
attempt to clarify.

"No.
I mean, I've gotten some pretty generous or otherwise tempting
offers but even I think some things are sacred, man," explained
Sirius with an amused look meeting James's perplexed one. "Nice
to know you think I get about like a stray dog though."

"That's
not what I meant," siad James hastily. "I just thought you'd
be the first one of us to is all."

"Well
that honor belongs to Moony," Sirius pointed out. "Good on him I
say. Madly in love and with one of the best girls to walk these
halls. Only happy memories there."

James nodded to this.
He wanted to think that Remus and Arabella would be together forever,
have a half dozen children, and spend their lives annoying one
another in their own loving way. Of course there was a far line to
tread between what James thought and what might actually happen with
their relationship. Still Sirius was not without a point. Could
Remus and Arabella really claim to having any regrets if they had
slept with one another while being completely in love? Some things,
as Sirius said, are sacred and some moments are precious and it was a
rare sort of alignment when these two happened to overlap.

James thought he would
be wildly lucky to have something so perfect even if it was for only
a little while.

Keeping with the vein
of the conversation, James eyed Sirius before asking.

"So
how about you and Winifred?" James asked.

Sirius's
mouth threatened a sneer.

"What
do you mean?" he demanded.

Guessing
Peter's constant ragging, the disapproving mutterings in
Gryffindor, and outright jabs of Slytherin was putting Sirius on the
defensive, James attempted to rationalize his question.

"I don't mean to
imply anything about her, Padfoot. It was more a general question
than anything. It's just that you've never quite gone on about a
girl like you do for Wilkes and I wanted to know how that was
treating you is all," James said almost apologetically.

Sirius's expression
softened, showing his own measure of remorse for biting his best
friend's head off for his question.

"I'm
keeping things slow and steady, though Win isn't making it easy on
me," Sirius reposted casually. "She's a little more. . .
advanced in the progression of relationships than I am but, hell, I
think she could have done better for herself some of the times before
and it's a pity she settled."

Sirius
paused to shake his head slightly mournfully.

"I
just don't want to be the latest creepy guy to make off with a
little bit of her soul."

James talks to Lily in
the commons after lights out (unable still to get into her room) and
is just happy that things aren't as complicated for them as other
people they know.

"James, are you
expecting something. . .specific to happen once you find your way
around McGonagall's charm?" Lily questioned with a deep stare.

James reddened
slightly and tried to hide it behind a copy of Defying Defenses.

"Well. . .honestly
no, but," he replied slightly uneasily, "the thing of it is
that's for me and you to decide, not McGonagall or anyone else."

Lily nodded along as
she hugged herself slightly. She stole a glance at the fire before
looking back to find James's hazel eyes still on her.

"For the sake of
argument, what have we decided on?" Lily wondered.

James set down his
book while he began to run his hand though his mess of hair.

"I, um, well I
really don't know," James confessed, "we've never really much
discussed the matter since – well since Christmas. . . and that was
five months ago about."

"I suppose we
haven't," said Lily a bit awkwardly.

She
couldn't be sure if it was the present conversation or her previous
behavior that had made her suddenly feel a bit self-conscious. Still
keeping his eyes on her, James slid down the length of the couch and
put an arm around her shoulders, hugging Lily to his frame.

"Did
you want to talk about it now?" James asked softly. His tone
suggested that he was more interested in the exchange rather than
pressing the issue.

"It's
probably about time we did," Lily agreed with a sigh, "what do
you think, James?"

James
thought he didn't want to be the one to give his opinion first,
that's what James thought.

Breathing
in deeply, James began to evaluate his whole opinion on the intimacy
of his and Lily's relationship and how willing he was to advocate a
change in it. He loved Lily and, when he cared to think that far
ahead, saw the two of them being together for a very long time. Of
course any major change, specifically a change like the one they were
hinting around at, might be a gamble of their currently existing
happiness.

Still
Lily had asked what he thought.

"I
think. . ." James began carefully while liking his lips, ". .
.I'm very happy the way things are now; however, there are times
when I think I would be happier if things were a tad more. .
.developed between us."

James
studied Lily's expression, searching for any signs that she thought
of him as just your typical randy young wizard angling on behalf of
his wand. At the moment she appeared to simply be listening to his
argument without any emotion registering upon her face. With this,
James decided to explain himself a bit more properly.

"I
know it's not entirely the most chivalrous stance I could take on
the matter, but the way I love you is the only thing I can feel with
any sort of certainly all the time. I'd be lying if I said that I
never thought about things becoming more serious between the both of
us, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to wait on it until
you're comfortable with that as well," James took Lily's hand
into his own and squeezed it gently, "And I mean that, you know.
That kind of thing isn't what's important to me. You're
what's important to me. And if it's not what you want then I can
get along brilliantly without it."

Lily
nodded as she rested her head against James's chest and closed her
eyes. They said nothing for a moment, as both of them were evidently
reflecting upon James's stance on the matter. Burying his face
into the side of her sweet smelling hair, James breathed close to her
ear.

"So
what are you thinking?"

"I'm
thinking. . ." Lily started slowly as her eyes opened, "that
neither of us has said 'sex', 'making love', or even
'shagging' at this point. We just keep saying 'it' or 'that
sort of thing' . . .something along those lines. . ."

James
thought about this observation briefly.

"I
suppose we have," he finally decided that there was a vague quality
to this discussion. Perhaps it was so no one overhearing them could
incriminate them with the specifics but even James couldn't say
that with certainty.

Pulling
herself up slightly so Lily could look at James a little more
directly she smiled gently.

"So
I think that when you and I are perfectly comfortable with uttering
those words in reference to ourselves then we'll be ready to
actually consider doing them," Lily stated.

The
seventeen year old wizard in James had to admit that wasn't quite
the response he had been hoping for but everything else found the
will to whole-heartedly smile and nod.

"That
sounds fair," James agreed as she settled himself comfortable
against Lily as she did with him.

The
sporadic crackling of the fireplace served as the only noise in the
room for a while as Lily and James were more than content to
wordlessly hold one another in the flickering amber light of the
flames. Silently James positioned his face before Lily's and
slowly began to run his lips over her perfect, soft ones.

"So,
since we can say words like 'snogging', 'spooning' and
'petting' we get to do those right?" James joked quietly.

Lily
laughed slightly against her boyfriend's grinning mouth.

"That
we most certainly do," Lily agreed.

"Fabulous,"
James said before he began to deeply kiss the girl he loved.

Ever-so
gradually, James reclined the pair of them onto the common room couch
so they could more comfortably pursue that which he had previously
suggested.

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